Church Library. August Annual Fish Fry. Sunday, August 13 5 PM. Watch for Details. Books, videos, CD s Bible Studies For your encouragement

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1 August 2017 Pastor Mark s Moment Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore. Psalm 133 I have been in difficult situations in various churches, so I know the importance of this passage of Scripture. It s amazing how a few people can cause serious problems for a congregation! And, although I ve experienced a variety of issues in pastoral ministry, I ve discovered that it s just as painful when a family member is going through a rough time. Annual Fish Fry Sunday, August 13 5 PM Watch for Details My son Andrew is the youth pastor in an Evangelical Free church. By all accounts he s doing very well, and is well liked by most of the congregation. However, that s not the case with the senior pastor. Even though my son feels that that the senior pastor is being unjustly persecuted, the situation has become drastic enough that the elders are calling for a vote of confidence on July 30 th to determine the future of his ministry at the church. To show their support, the entire staff has made this a vote of confidence on them as well. The vote may be over by the time you read this, and it looks like the staff has the support they need to weather the storm, but I would appreciate your continued prayers for them as I m sure that there will continue to be problems for a while. Now, having said all that, I am especially grateful to God for the season of ministry we are experiencing at First Baptist. Thank you for your support, and thank you for your continued work and outreach for the church. As we get ready for our August Fund Raiser, let s make it a time of celebration and thanksgiving. Come out, enjoy some fellowship, eat some good food, and maybe even have a chance to dunk the pastor again this year! Don t forget to check out the Church Library Books, videos, CD s Bible Studies For your encouragement

2 F ROM TH E ELD E R BOARD BABY SHOWER Everyone is invited to a co-ed baby shower for Brooke & Erik Linton on Saturday, August 19th at 2:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church. They are expecting a baby boy in late September. They are registered at Target. Any questions, contact Cindy ( ) or Sarah ( ). The meeting was opened by prayer with members praying for specific church family needs. The minutes from June were approved. The financial report was reviewed. The elders continued to work on a review of the safety guidelines and procedures for FBC and have almost finalized the new scholarship guidelines. The elders reviewed team reports from youth, bridges, and missions. Planning continued for the August Fund Raiser. A goal was set of $20,000 and the pastor was assigned the task of writing the fundraising letter. Benevolence matters were discussed. Other items were discussed. The next meeting will be on August 15th at 7 p.m. The meeting was closed in prayer. C HECK IT OUT - LIBRARY NE W S 50 PLUS The next 50 PLUS is Wednesday, September Noon. Enjoy food, fellowship & program. An update on Mount St Helens volcano will be the program. Suggested donation $5/ meal. Invite your friends. ELEVATE YOUTH GROUP SCHEDULE August 2-7 FBC August 9-7 FBC August 12 - Baseball at Fitzgerald Park in Ellison 4:30 PM August 16-7 FBC August 23-7 FBC August 30 - Movie Under the Ellison Bay Beach - 7 PM Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi I just finished reading this book and can recommend it highly. This is Nabeel s story of the inner turmoil he went through as he was having conversations with his friend David regarding Islam and Christianity. From the beginning you find Nabeel as a boy, raised in a peaceful Pakistani Muslim family. It goes on to describe his dramatic journey from Islam to Christianity, complete with friendships, investigations, and supernatural dreams along the way. I learned much about how and why Muslims misread biblical issues and the arguments presented by David to counter those beliefs. All this leads to a very emotional conclusion with Nabeel coming to believe in Jesus as God. In The Shadow of Denali by Tracie Peterson Cassidy Ivanoff and her Father John work at the new and prestigious Curry Hotel near the foot of Mount McKinley. John is a wilderness and exploration guide for the wealthy tourists and Cassidy works in the kitchen. There is excitement as the President comes to drive the golden spike to officially open the Alaska Railroad. Allan Brennan comes to be an apprentice to the seasoned mountain guide with the hopes of finding the truth about his father s death on the mountain years earlier. Cassidy becomes Allan s ally as they look into this mystery and find more than they expected and more danger. To Whisper Her Name by Tamera Alexander Set at Nashville s historic Belle Meade Plantation, the most influential thoroughbred stud farm in American history, To Whisper Her Name weaves the struggles of real people of the post-war South with the journeys of a man and a woman scarred by betrayal. The story revolves around Olivia Aberdeen, destitute widow of a man shot as a traitor to the south, Elizabeth Harding, Mistress of the plantation, Confederate General William Giles Harding, Ridley Cooper branded a traitor by some and Bob Green, horse trainer for the plantation. The story will give insight into struggles of America s post war conditions.

3 The youth summer camp was a great success. Estimated attend ance each day was about 68 with additional kids of pre kindergarten age as well. The kids were lined up anxiously waiting at the gate each morning some as early as 8:00AM. Igor and Tanya along with Alexy were assisted by a full cadre of volunteers and teens from the church youth group. Alexy's wife Tanya was happy to be active again preparing all of the food and also helping with younger crafts as needed. It was exciting to see families and kids who had attended summer camps in previous years or were part of the Saturday bi-weekly events held all year. There is a definite coming together of the community around this event. The camp program ran each day from 9AM to 3PM all five days. Each afternoon the kids returned to their homes and all the volunteers took time to rest and coordinate the next days activities as Tanya prepared and served supper. An evening program was held each day for those 15 and older. It started at 7PM around the campfire. Igor and Tanya had a brief topic introduction each evening and then the rest of the time was spent around the fire singing and talking about God and life as a teenager. Average attendance was about 20 and several evenings did not end until midnight. The week following the camp at Krasnopolya, the annual Grace Church summer camp was held at their campgrounds outside of Sumy. Nine teens from the evening sessions attended that camp and one 14 year old boy from Krasnopolya, accepted Christ at that camp! He lives near the church and quickly told his neighbor woman friend that he now plans to attend worship each Sunday with her. Our prayers this month should include praise and thanksgiving for the new 14 year old brother in the Lord. We should also pray for successful follow up mission outreach now that the camp is over and especially for the youth who led it. BRIDGES Friendship with International Students Nancy Nordgren from Immanuel Lutheran Church is one of the BRIDGES church liaisons who has faithfully shown friendship to the international students. Here is the blog she wrote at the request of the State Department. I write this as we look forward to the arrival of 3 of our Romanian girls who are returning for their second year here in Door County WI. This will be our 6 th year as a Host Family for international students through our BRIDGES of Door County organization. Over the past years we have been privileged to enjoy a host family relationship with 14 students: 4 from Ukraine (2 returned for a second year), 4 from Turkey, 3 from China, and 3 from Romania (all 3 returning this year for their second year here), and, a new gal this year from Russia. Each summer we plan and share many activities in addition to the ones sponsored directly by BRIDGES. Frequent dinners at our home are routine, trips to grocery shop, always trips to many of the Door County attractions: Linden Gallery, art galleries, the Farm, a ferry boat ride and sightseeing on Washington Island, to name a few. I think one of the most significant things we ve shared with most of them is inviting them to our church services and introducing them to our church and our church family. They have been graciously received and, for several of the girls, attending our Praise Services every Saturday afternoon has been a priority. We were fortunate that their employer scheduled them in a manner that allowed for them to attend regularly. A Chinese girl even sang a solo in our church one week. One of our Chinese students, after being here for three months, had determined she would get a better education here in the United States. At her request we took her to the University of Wisconsin Green Bay campus for a tour and an interview with a new student counselor. Subsequently, she returned to China, spent five months testing and filling out forms, resulting in acceptance at UWGB the following semester. She returned in January We have since been her surrogate parents here. She spends holidays and weekends with us, has been integrated into our family as another of our grandchildren. We anticipate her graduation in This is among the most rewarding of our experiences. The opportunity to become involved with this program was natural, considering we had spent many years with the resettlement of two Vietnamese refugee families through our church in the mid 1970 s. Now 40 years later, we still have ongoing contact with them, have attended their weddings, welcomed their children, and attended their children s college graduation parties. Our experiences with our kids here in Door County have been totally positive. I believe they have a whole new perspective on usual life here in America. It s not TV stuff. They have had an opportunity through work and travel and family experiences to bring back a new perspective on the America they saw and experienced. It truly has been a win/win experience for us, as we learn as much from them as we hope they learn from us. y

4 F I R S T B A P T I S T C H U R C H C A L E N D A R August 2017

5 COMMUNITY HEALTH INFORMATION PROGRAM Sunday, August 27st ~ 4 PM To See of Not To See Dr. Paul Filar, Peninsula Vison Care Dr Filar, a board certified behavioral optometrist, will give an in-depth presentation on cataracts. The discussion will include who gets cataracts, how they form, preventative measures, when surgery is needed, what kind of options there are for treatmentand expected outcomes. Sponsored by Northern Door Health & Wellness Held in the Gathering First Baptist August Fund Drive Sunday, August 13th 5 PM - Door County Fish fry Watch for future details If you wish to be added to the distribution list send an note to firstbaptistsisterbay@gmail.com. The Koinonia Kupboard Food Pantry received a check for $580 from the kringle fundraiser sponsored by Calvary & Zion Methodist Women. Thank you to those that participated. A Few Statistics Date 8:00 10:30 S.S. Offering July Bkfst $ 7, July $ 7, July $ 2, July $ 5, $22, BIRTHDAYS 2nd: Lyle Bruss 6th: Andrew Burgess John Harding Bill Norman 7th: Jonny Haskell 8th: Parker Rowe 9th: Jacob Kodanko 10th: Mary Landeck 11th: Jackie Larson 12th: Sarah Linton 14th: Debbie Kordon 19th: Barry Olsen David Seaquist 20th: Danielle Nyman 21st: Mike Green 23rd: Sue Norcross 24th: Valerie Billington Joe DiIanni Amanda Larson Art Weborg 25th: CJ Hatch 26th: Marlys Wilkinson 31st: Dave Hansen Mike Parent ANNIVERSARIES 3rd: Todd & Tanna Tesnow 34 years 16th: Lee & Sandy McCluggage 32 years 20th: Dave & Joyce Detert 57 years Bernie & Ruth MacDonald 57 years 24th: Dave & Christine McNeil 9 years 28th: Mike & Millirose Walker 53 years

6 First Baptist Church 2622 S. Bay Shore Dr. Sister Bay, WI F R O M O UR G L O B A L M I N I S T R Y Steve & Faye Daniels ~ Pioneers, France Last summer, First Baptist added Steve and Faye Daniels to the list of missionaries we support. Steve's preparation in the studies of Bible and Theology from Moody, extensive experience in working with youth, and Faye's 20 years of teaching French will make them a good fit for serving in France, a country that has a great need for Christian workers, since only 1% is evangelical.their ministry started in Montpellier but later was transferred to Alcase so that Steve could have more intense training in learning French; so far he has done well. In May they met a French pastor, Christophe and his wife Joelle, committed Christians who have a strong desire to make Biblical truth known to the local people. A bond has developed with them (Steve and Christophe worked for Youth for Christ) and they are hopeful that this French couple will show them how to use English as a tool for presenting the Gospel to young people. An American couple, Lisa and Mark will join in to help. While Steve was studying the Biblical story of Balaam and the donkey, a fellow student made this humorous comment "if God can use a donkey to speak truth, surely He could use my fumbling tongue to speak truth in French." While Steve is plugging away at learning the language, he had learned to trust God in giving him the right word at the right time. In the meantime, Faye has been honing her language skills by reading the Bible and other books in French, meeting French friends, and reviewing grammatical structure for clearer communication. She has recently started a Bible study with some ladies from the church and also started a Bible study with an unbeliever. Prayer for: ~ Sylvie to understand God's Word as we study it together and for her to come to know Jesus. ~ For our language ability to continue to improve so that deep relationships and conversations can be fostered. ~ Relationship with Christophe and the church in Alcase to give mutual encouragement and develop a plan that will benefit and bless the French young people. ~ For the upper level graduates to make a smooth transition when they go to other countries